Step of the Way
by what a feeling
Summary: Annabeth was looking the wrong way, and Percy just wasn't looking at all. OR: Learning something you worked hard to forget can be difficult, but Percy might be off to an okay start. Percabeth with Percy/Rachel and Annabeth/Luke. Rated T for language. Mortal AU. Complete.
1. Prologue

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: A little gift for Percy's birthday (almost). I was too excited to wait a day haha xo**

 **I'm really sorry for disappearing off the internet for so long! I've had a major writer's block, and I've been working on this fic for ages! If you want to know what I've been up to, be sure to follow me ( greenapplesarenotred) on Tumblr!**

 **I generally don't do this, but I've got some things to discuss, ask for your opinions on, so I'd like for you guys to**

 _ **PLEASE READ THIS!**_

 **Here's a bunch of things I have to talk about, and I would love your opinions on these suggestions/ questions.**

 **1\. First of all, I'd like to truly apologize for my absence. I've only just been reading through your reviews, and I want to be sure that all of you know how much they mean to me! I absolutely love when you have feedback, and it honestly makes my day when someone enjoys my work and lets me know. A huge shout-out to Escape4rmReality because of your constant reviews, honestly, dear, bless you. Another to sirwolowitz101, because your review on Say What You Gotta Say- I read it just today, I apologize- was the reason I got around to posting this piece of trash. Everyone else, I love you and I really do appreciate you guys. THANK YOU**

 **2\. This is a story I'm more or less done with. I've written out the whole thing, except I have to fix one plot hole, which is why I haven't posted it together. It's a multichapter fic, although I can't be sure how many chapters as yet. I just wanted to let you know!**

 **3\. I know I've asked for your opinions before, and I haven't seemed to deliver on them. I promise I'm working on it. I'm just not happy with the quality of my writing anymore, and I want to give you guys the best of my abilities!**

 **4\. UPDATES on my current stories! My spy AU, Where I'll Wake Tomorrow, is going to undergo a MAJOR change. I'm going to spend about a month mapping out a better version of the SAME story. I know I'm terrible at keeping up with you guys, but this is a promise! My previous fic, the one with Reyna- Just Like A Movie- I have an epilogue, but I just want to recheck it. It should be up some time this week!**

 **Lastly, the Harry Potter AU- The blurb that I posted a while ago; Good news: I'm going to do it! Bad news: It's probably after I get some of the other long term stuff, like this fic and the spy AU, off my chest!**

 **5\. I'm still going to be posting a lot of my one shots. I have plenty WIPs. In fact, if you'd like, I can post about five of my WIPs some time this week and y'all can tell me which one you want me to work on first!**

 **Please leave a comment on whether you like my new (reformed) plan of action, whether you'd like to do the vote and whether you enjoyed this fic!**

 **You guys are my world xxx**

 **Annie**

PROLOGUE:

New York is bright and sunny on this particular morning. It's not very surprising- April is a good month. The streets are bustling with activity as on any Thursday.

Percy Jackson, a young man working in public relations for Lindsay Technologies, one of the leading companies in the country, is sat at a coffee shop, bored out of his mind as his best friend has a nervous breakdown. He should be at work right now, but he's never missed a single day, and had decided that he can spare her some time, and now regrets it thoroughly as she wails about whether or not to take a break from her ridiculously busy job at Urban Architectural Designs, LLC, to attend a friend's wedding all the way in Hawaii.

"I don't think I should go, though." Annabeth bites her lip. Percy shrugs.

"In my opinion, for what it's worth, I think it'll be pretty cool. What's so terrifying about meeting a couple of your friends from college, anyway?" Truth be told, he just wants her to take a break. She's been working herself to the ground the last few months, and because she's his best friend, he worries about her.

Annabeth opens her mouth before shutting it again, but Percy knows what she's thinking about- Luke Castellan, the guy she'd been in "love" with for _years_. He wants to roll his eyes at her. Love is a myth- The only thing that draws people to each other is _pure_ sexual attraction. He'd been with girls before, but never let it get too serious. He'd hate to be stuck in _that_ rut. The last time he'd thought he was in "love" was with his high school girlfriend that he'd been with for a whole two months before breaking up. He vaguely wonders what Calypso's been up to these days.

"Is your friend going to be attending? The pretty one? Red head?" He knows the answer because he's been texting Rachel, but asks anyway, trying to change the topic. Luke is always such a painful topic to speak with Annabeth about. He doesn't know who gets more stressed about it- Her, or him. The blonde scowls at him.

"Rachel? I assume so- She and Piper were pretty tight. Probably still are. Doesn't mean I'm going, and I'm definitely not taking _you_ along." She tells him flatly.

"I can't believe you're turning down an opportunity to go to _Tristan McLean_ 's daughter's wedding, though." Percy wonders what it's like to be so famous. He would've voiced it, but it's a sore spot for Annabeth, whose own father was actual Swedish royalty and was, for some reason, treated as well here in the _United States_. Go figure.

"It's _Jason_ 's wedding, though- He's as good as family. I just- I don't know what to do." Annabeth whines, holding her head in her hands. Some of the others in the coffee shop look around to pass on a weird stare at her, but she pays them no attention.

Just then, the bell rings, signaling someone's entry. Percy peers over Annabeth's shoulder to look at the newcomers. He can't help himself- he's gotten over his ADHD as he grew older, but he's always found it impossible to ignore people who enter a room after him. He sees a petite woman with short auburn hair enter. She pauses, holding the door open, as if waiting for someone to join her.

The man who enters is somebody Percy recognizes almost instantly. Tall and well-built with a walk worthy of a model. Luke Castellan enters the small café looking like he just stepped out of a photoshoot, and even that, Percy thinks a little grudgingly, he makes look effortless.

"Um, Annabeth." Percy pokes her head, that's now on the table. She looks up at him miserably.

"What?"

"Luke's just walked in."

"Ha-ha. Very funny. Just cause I said I wouldn't go- I mean really I'm not an idi-" She argues, just like the idiot she truly is.

"Annabeth?" A voice calls from beside them. The two of them turn to face Luke, who's beaming at Annabeth. He's looking at her like she's his sun and moon, and it sickens Percy to the stomach. What amazes him more is that Annabeth never seems to notice, probably because of the moony eyes she gives him every time they meet. Like right now.

"L-Luke." She stutters, turning a bright shade of pink that Percy thinks makes her look pretty cute. Luke reaches out to her the same time she jerks to her feet, and after some awkward hand gestures, they settle into what seems like a really uncomfortable hug. Annabeth draws away first. "What are you doing here?"

"At a coffee shop? I don't know, Annabeth, but getting myself some coffee is sounding good right now." He says with a straight face, and Percy lets out a snort. For all her smarts, Annabeth sure knows how to make herself look like a complete dumbass in front of Luke. He must've been loud, because the blonde looks at him for the first time.

"Percy, my man! How've you been?" He claps Percy on the back just a little too hard for it to be friendly. Percy smiles through a scowl.

"Been good, Luke. And you?"

"Been great, man! Oh- I almost forgot. Uh, this is Audrey, my- er, fiancée." He slides his arm around the woman he came in with. She smiles softly, a dimple forming on her cheek. Something about the way she looks with his arm around her strikes Percy as odd. Like she's not comfortable being called his fiancée. "Audrey, this is Annabeth Chase. A friend from college, and Percy Jackson. A friend of Annabeth's. He's as good as a friend from college, too, because he spent literally every weekend with the bunch of us." He laughs goodnaturedly.

Percy likes Annabeth a lot. It's the reason they're friends. It's why he wishes there was a way for him to forget the way she looked when she shook Audrey's hand. Like she was trying to regain balance after the world had been pulled away from under her feet. He wants to reach out to her and tell her it's alright, but how can he? She'd been infatuated with Luke for _years_.

 _Love's a trap_ , he wants to tell her. _And you're playing right into its hands_.

"Oh, _you_ 're the Annabeth from college!" Audrey laughs. "I've heard so much about you. I think we'd get on great."

"You most definitely will." Luke agrees. "Oh, you'll have plenty of time to get to know each other, I'm sure. Are you going to be going down to Hawaii next month, Annabeth? I know Jason's like a brother to you."

"Uh-I, um. Yeah." Annabeth struggles for words so much, it embarrasses Percy.

"Great. Too bad you're coming alone; Hawaii's a pretty romantic." Luke shrugs, but Percy can swear there's something really smug behind his eyes. Annabeth must see it too, because she turns beet red.

"Actually," She says, clearing her throat. "I _am_ bringing someone along. My boyfriend." She struggles with the last part. Percy wants to hit himself in the face. Anything is better than having to witness your best friend try to impress someone and then fail miserably. Luke's eyebrows are so high they could disappear into his hairline, and there's a flash of annoyance that's gone so fast, Percy isn't sure if he imagined it.

"Who?" He demands coldly, and Audrey places a slight hand on his shoulder. He relaxes his features, probably realizing he was halfway to creating a scene, but it had definitely given Annabeth some confidence, because she stands up straighter. She looks composed as she inches closer to Percy, who meets her eye, and realizes that, for the first time, Annabeth Chase has no plan.

And she's panicking.

Still, looking cool as a cucumber, she reaches out, slipping her hand in Percy's.

"Percy, of course!"

There's a stunned silence, and Percy isn't sure who's more in shock- Luke, him or Annabeth. The only person who seems oblivious to the tension is Audrey, who claps her hands together in delight.

"How wonderful! Oh, the two of you seem like you have great chemistry!" She gushes, and Percy clears his throat, unsure of what to say or do.

"Yeah." He says, knowing the second the word leaves his mouth that it's wrong. Annabeth's hand tightens slightly in his, warning him not to make things worse by trying to fix it. Luke makes a sound somewhere between a scoff and a snort.

"You two?" He points his finger between the two of them. He looks like he wants to object, but instead, asks, "When?"

"A year ago, isn't that right, babe?" Percy answers coolly, not trusting Annabeth to speak. She nods her head quickly. He pulls her closer to him, wrapping his arm around her waist. She feels limp, like she's not even trying to hold herself up. He doesn't dare look down at her. "It's nothing extraordinary, really- We've been friends for years now. It seems almost natural." He doesn't want to get into talking about their _feelings_. It's a downward spiral; Annabeth would never be able to lie that deeply to Luke, and Percy'd never be able to sound convincing.

"That's nice." Luke nods, voice tight. Beside him, Annabeth squeaks in agreement.

"It's pretty great. A girl like this one," He gives her a squeeze. "Doesn't come around too often." A flash of annoyance flashes in Luke's eyes, and Percy thinks it's unfair that he can wear anger and jealousy- Two of the most ugly emotions, in Percy's opinion- and still look so good.

"I'm sure. Well, look at the time. Audrey, we're late." She looks like she's about to complain- They did, after all, only just come in. But he holds her hand, tugging her out and giving her no time to argue. "We'll see you guys around, definitely in Hawaii." He raises his hand in farewell and Annabeth has the time to call out a high pitched "Bye!" Before the two of them leave the café.

There's a heavy silence hanging between them as Percy and Annabeth watch the couple turn on to and then disappear down the street. Percy feels Annabeth release a labored breath, and he looks down to meet her eyes. They're a bright grey with little storms brewing in them.

"What did I just agree to?" She mutters dumbly, and Percy has to admit, taking a day off of work for this seems worth it.

"Looks like we're going to Hawaii," He tells her before adding, "Babe."


	2. Chapter 1

The flight to Hawaii is _terrifying_. Annabeth apologizes the whole way there.

"I'm so sorry, Perce,-"

"Annabeth." Percy grits as the plane hits the turbulence while they start their descent. He grips the armrest until his knuckles turn white. "It's alright. I fly all the time. It's a part of the job."

He knows that she knows his traveling schedules better than he does, but he wants to emphasize the fact that he does do things, despite being terrified of it. He isn't sure why he tries so hard to impress Annabeth, but he's been doing it since they were twelve, and it's hard to stop something you've been doing for thirteen years. Annabeth places her hand over his, and he knows she's trying to comfort him, but it sends electricity coursing through his body, wakening him up. He can swear everyone's eyes are on them.

The plane lands safely, and they survive another flight that didn't get blown out of the sky by lightning, one of Percy's biggest (and possibly, most irrational) fears. They collect their bags and head out of the airport.

She's waiting for them with a smile so dazzling, it nearly blinds Percy.

"I thought you were going to bail." Is how Rachel Elizabeth Dare greets Annabeth, before throwing her arms around her. "I'm so glad you could make it."

Annabeth laughs, giving Rachel a long hug.

"Hi, Rach." She says. Rachel pulls away, but her one of her arms remain around Annabeth's shoulders. "You remember Percy. I'm pretty sure you guys've-"

"We've met." Rachel nods with a laugh to Percy, and he can't help cock a grin at her. They aren't friends by a long shot, but they've definitely seen each other before. She shakes his hand, green eyes twinkling. "You guys finally got together, then. I called it when I first met you." She tells Annabeth, who stiffens for a second but relaxes.

"Funny." She says. "But we're not together." She leans in closer to Rachel, but Percy can still hear her. "If you let anybody else believe otherwise, I'll tell about Harry Firth from junior year."

Percy has no idea who Harry Firth is, but Annabeth's tone and then Rachel's bright red blush is enough to tell him it's something he really shouldn't ask about.

"Is this about Lu-" She catches Percy's eye, thankfully, and stops herself. "Ah. I see. Let's go." She nods, leading the way to her car.

"How long have you been here?" Annabeth asks Rachel, who shrugs.

"Long enough. It's not easy, being the maid of honor, Annabeth." Rachel adjusts her mirror as Percy straps himself into his seat. He feels slightly left out in between the two women, but he'd sooner admit his undying love for Taylor Swift than tell Annabeth she's put him in an uncomfortable position. Besides, he can see all of Rachel's face now that she's set her rearview mirror, and, well- He's not complaining.

"I can't imagine." Annabeth says, but Percy can tell from her tone that she's only saying it to keep the conversation going. She can't care less about maid of honor duties.

"Oh you will. Just wait for the day I find someone to marry." Rachel teases, but she looks up at her mirror and straight at Percy in the backseat, like she knows how attracted he is to her, and sends him a wink. He doesn't know what to make of it, so he shakes his head with a smile, looking out of the window.

The girls go on to talk about Piper and her dress as they drive down the winding roads, and Percy finds his mind drifting to Luke Castellan. The two of them had met for the first time after Percy had listened to Annabeth go on about the really cute pre-law student living opposite her. Almost instantly, the boys had taken a strong disliking to each other, and it's likely that it was because of their constant contesting for Annabeth's attention. Of course, neither of them was stupid enough to voice it to her, but the resentment had lasted for years.

Percy, who didn't attend Columbia like Luke and Annabeth, only knows her friends by association. He's pretty sure he'd stick out like a sore thumb, but if Luke can bring his fiancée along, he doesn't see how hard fitting in could be.

Thinking about Audrey makes him uncomfortable. She'd seemed like a nice woman from the first time they'd met, but he also definitely saw the way Luke looked at Annabeth. If he can sense that Luke's affections for her hadn't changed, Luke can, too. For all the time he'd known the blonde, Percy can't think of a time Luke had ever made an uncalculated move.

Annabeth was blind to it, but it made Percy squirm.

What if Luke's playing a game? The last thing Percy wants is for Annabeth to get caught up in something that could hurt her. He doesn't say it often, but he does care deeply for her, despite how hard she makes it. She doesn't make _anything_ easy. Percy doesn't realize that he's smiling until Annabeth's voice draws him out of his thoughts.

"-Percy?"

"Huh?" He blinks at Rachel's reflection.

"If you were paying attention to the conversation instead of smiling at the trees, you'd have heard her." Rachel supplies unhelpfully.

"I asked if you wanted to come out to the beach after we get in." Annabeth repeats, paying Rachel's sarcasm no attention. She must have a lot on her mind, Percy thinks, if she didn't take the chance to tease him.

"Have you ever known me to turn down an opportunity to hit the waves?" Percy grins, partially hoping to impress Rachel with his surfing, and a little because he hopes Annabeth thinks about the last time they went surfing together- And he could get her to smile a bit. Annabeth hums distractedly.

"Great. I can't wait to meet Jason." She tells Rachel. "How come he didn't come to the airport?" She tries to hide the hurt in her voice. Percy flinches slightly at her tone.

"He was busy with other stuff." Rachel waves off. "Doesn't get along very well with Piper's dad, and it's causing a whole load of issues. Don't ask."

They pull into an enormous parking lot to a resort. Percy gets Annabeth's bags, waving for her to carry on, mostly because he feels like he's intruding some serious girl time. He follows behind the two women silently as Rachel fires off about someone else he doesn't know.

They enter a lavishly done lobby and as Annabeth checks them in, Percy looks around the place. It's exactly the kind of resort lobby you'd expect to see in Hawaii, he thinks. With wooden floors and pillars holding up a leafy ceiling that makes him wonder what they do when it rains. There are plush cushions adorning wooden sofas pushed up in the corner, and a large fountain at the center of the room.

At the very end of the hall is a large yellow banner that reads, "The Grace and McLean families welcome you!". Percy lets out a low whistle. He's never been to Hawaii before, but so far, it hasn't failed to impress him. Annabeth appears at his side then, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"That has to cause some kind of a problem when it rains." She decides. Percy nods mutely. Annabeth looks around the room and then up at him. "Ready to be in love, Seaweed Brain?" She asks.

Percy smirks at her.

"Born ready."

oOo

Their room is amidst a bunch of other 'VIP' guests- A strange term Rachel used for the people that the bride and groom are really close to. Of course, Annabeth had to be one; She and Jason were as good as twins. Rachel tells them that Thalia, Jason's sister, is staying next to them, and Annabeth's grin is wide until she's told Thalia's currently out running some last minute errands with Jason. Her smile droops a little but she still seems happy. Percy doesn't question it- He knows that Annabeth is really good friends with both Grace kids. He follows her through the door and gapes at the room.

It's a large room with a massive bed and sleek furniture, but it's not what catches Percy's attention. He heads straight to the balcony, pushing open the door and taking in the salty air. A warm breeze hits him in the face, and he looks out at the beach below him, mesmerized by the million shades of blue sparkling in the ocean. He can see specks of green and patches of turquoise. There's a deep blue and the same cool blue that Annabeth's eyes sometimes take on. He feels calmer, now. His breathing matches the soft sound of waves lapping over the golden beach.

Annabeth steps out just then.

"Wow." She murmurs. He hums in agreement. For some reason, he feels happy. Content. Standing over the beautiful beach, sharing the moment with Annabeth- It seems intimate, in a way, and he can't say he hates it. He doesn't hear Rachel leave and doesn't know how long the two of them stand there, watching the waves, but when they get back inside, the place is empty.

"Beach?" Annabeth asks finally, grinning up at him.

"Beach." Percy agrees.

Annabeth stretches out on her beach towel, sunglasses sitting delicately on her nose. Percy doesn't know why he can't stop staring at her. He isn't going to lie to himself, Annabeth is very obviously attractive. He's seen her in a swimsuit before, and it's not something he's not used to, so he can't for the life of him figure out why he's so awed by her right now.

She's wearing her turquoise bikini, something Percy's seen her in a billion times before, and her hair is pushed over her shoulder like she doesn't want it in her way as she sunbathes. It's four in the afternoon, and the sun is falling over them, giving her a bronze glow that Percy desperately hopes he has, too.

She catches him staring, and flashes him a smile.

"You okay?"

"Never better." Percy grins, lying down beside her. She reaches over to ruffle his hair, but ends up rolling on top of him. He reaches out, putting his hands on her waist to steady her. "Woah there. What're you trying to do?"

"Sorry." She shakes her head, adjusting herself so she's sitting on top of him, legs straddling his hips. "Thanks for doing this, Perce." She says, and he can count on his fingers how many times she's ever sounded this genuine. "Really, I owe you. You're the best friend anybody could ask for."

" _Babe_ ," Percy teases. "Don't mention it. Now come over here and kiss me so we could have passionate sex on the beach." He's only half joking (He's _joking_ , jeez, calm down!). Annabeth smirks, moving forward so her lips are inches from his. He can almost taste her strawberry chapstick. Her hair falls over their faces, and Percy is sure she's going to do it- She's going to kiss him and relieve a whole thirteen years of pent up sexual tension and it's going to mess up _everything_ , and send Percy into a tizzy because he can't decide if he's excited or terrified of screwing things up with _Annabeth_ , because he doesn't know where he's going to be without her in his life, and- she smirks last minute, swatting him upside the head.

"In your _dreams_ , Jackson." She laughs, climbing off him. He misses the contact enough to scare him a little, but gives her a lopsided smile.

"How'd you find out about those dreams?" He asks, and she laughs.

It's a nice sound. It makes his chest feel warm, like it does when his mom makes him her gooey chocolate chip cookies.

"Are we going surfing tomorrow?" She asks after a while. Percy considers it.

"Is Rachel coming?"

"You guys are obsessed with each other." Annabeth whines. "Yeah, she might. I'll play matchmaker for you, but it's just this time, because you're doing me a favor."

Percy leans over and presses a wet kiss on her cheek- Just the kind she hates.

"You're the best."

oOo

That evening is host to a small party, of sorts. It's in a large hall with music and a bar and a dance floor. Percy meets a bunch of new people. He can remember all of six names, of which he can assign exactly one person's face to their name- The bride, Piper McLean. It isn't because she looks like her movie star father (she doesn't, really), or because she's probably one of the most attractive women Percy's ever met. He can recognize her purely based on the fact that she's the bride. And he's attending her wedding in two days.

It's out of compulsion, really.

He also runs into a lot of other familiar faces. Jason Grace, of course, gives him a big hug and then punches him in the arm, with a 'I knew you guys would end up together, man!' while nodding to Annabeth, who turns a light pink. Grover Underwood is in attendance, to Percy's relief. Of all Annabeth's friends from college, Percy's always liked Grover the best. They'd gotten along like a house on fire every time he'd stay the weekend in her little dorm room in Columbia, something he'd done quite often, mostly because of how much he despised his NYU roommate. In the times that he'd land up at her door to find Annabeth buried in a book, Percy'd feel just as welcome to invite himself over to Grover and Luke's dorm and spend the night doing things boys generally did.

"I'm so glad you guys are here!" Grover beams. "I can't believe it finally happened." He claps his hands together, gesturing to Percy and then Annabeth, who's deep in conversation with Jason and Piper. Percy wants to laugh it off, the way he's been doing the last few people he's met who'd claimed they knew it would happen from the moment they met Percy, but he feels guilty, lying to Grover.

"Actually, G-Man,-"

Grover's smile drops into a frown. "Oh." He says dejectedly, like he already knew what Percy was about to say. "Of course. Luke." He nods, never failing to amaze Percy with his ability to read situations. "I'm sorry she's still hung up on him, Perce. She'll see, one day. Don't worry about it." He pats Percy's back comfortingly.

"Oh, no. Uh, we're not- I mean." Percy falters. "I'm not into her. Like that." He tries to correct. "I mean- I don't date."

None of the words seems to be accurately communicating what he's thinking, so he gives up. Grover smiles a soft smile at him.

"Alright, then." He shrugs. "Oh, hi Luke! How've you been?"

"Grover! There's my man!" Luke gives him a man hug before throwing a heavy arm over Percy's shoulder. "Percy! You're here." He doesn't sound very pleased, but his smile is intact.

"Luke." Percy nods, trying to discretely slide out from under his arm. He looks up at Luke, who's wearing a light blue shirt and dark pants, a blazer draped over his arm. His sandy hair is gelled slightly, and his lips are pulled up in the most dazzling smile Percy's ever seen. If there was a magazine dedicated solely to young, snobby lawyers, Luke Castellan looks like he belongs on the cover.

"Is Annabeth around? I'd love to go say hi." He asks, but he's looking at Grover, who points Luke in the wrong direction. Luke thanks him, pats Percy on the back and excuses himself before disappearing down the large hall. Grover spots one of his old friends from college (there seems to be too many of them, Percy thinks) and excuses himself. Percy is alone for all of one second before he feels someone tap him on the shoulder.

Percy turns around to have someone tackle him in a rough hug. Thalia Grace pulls away almost just as fast, grinning at him from ear to ear.

"You're Annabeth's plus one!" She announces. Annabeth, who's standing behind her, lets out a laugh. Percy notices her for the first time, and she flashes him a smile and he has to suck in a breath. He sends her a wink over Thalia's head as Rachel makes her way to the three of them before turning his attention back to Thalia, who's at least a head shorter than him, and still wrapped around his waist.

"Nice to see you too, Grace." He beams because Thalia's grin is infectious.

"You bet it is. Where've you been? I haven't heard from you in ages! It was only when Luke told me that the two of you are finally together that I found out you were still in New York!" Thalia draws back, punching him lightly in the arm.

"Yeah, been busy." Percy shrugs off, and Annabeth quietly steps to his side. He wraps his arm around her waist, hoping Thalia doesn't notice their lack of, well, being in love. "I lost my phone a while ago- Didn't have your number-"

"Not something Annabeth can say for herself." Thalia cuts in. "Anyway, you're here. Everyone's so excited about this." She gestures to the two of them. "We had a betting pool, but nobody thought it would take _this_ long." Rachel lets out a snort, and Percy sends her a glare, rubbing his hand on Annabeth's back.

"That's what I said." He teases, and Annabeth laughs, resting her hand on his chest.

"He's a good actor, this one." She says, and Percy has to admit he's impressed by her behavior so far. He'd been afraid she wouldn't be able to pretend in front of all these people, given that she's the worst liar he's seen, but she seems to be holding her own.

"You guys keep the sap for the bedroom." Thalia says, before frowning. "Actually, no. I'm staying beside you. Forget I said that."

Someone calls for Thalia, and she runs off, leaving Annabeth, Rachel and Percy. Immediately, Percy's arm slips off her and she takes a step away from him. Rachel smirks at the two of them.

"You guys are ridiculous." She tells them, but her eyes are locked on Percy's. He grins, plucking Annabeth's wine out of her hand and taking a long swig.

"That wine is disgusting." He decides. Annabeth rolls her eyes.

"You hate wine, Seaweed Brain. Would you guys like me to get you some drinks?"

Percy and Rachel are both quick to agree.

"Absolutely. I'd like cooler, please." Rachel asks. Annabeth nods before wandering off, leaving Percy and Rachel alone, to all their reliefs. "Aren't you getting a drink?" Rachel asks.

"I am." Percy nods. "Rum and Coke." He tells her.

"You didn't ask her for it, though-"

"I'm going to have a rum and Coke." Percy repeats with a little more emphasis. If Rachel has any more questions about it, she drops it. He watches Annabeth wind her way down to the bar. He looks down at Rachel and takes her in. She's wearing a tight, deep cut grey dress, and he vaguely registers how it's the same shade as his vest. Her hair is bright in contrast to the dull color of her clothes, and the curls are swept over her shoulder. She's got makeup on, of that, Percy is sure, because nobody's face can naturally glitter the way hers does. Her eyes are a grass green, lined by dark mascara, and she looks absolutely gorgeous.

"You look really pretty." He says, finally, wondering where all his natural charm went.

"You don't look too shabby." Rachel smiles, stepping forward, and Percy's about to sweep her off her feet, but something catches his eye. Luke is bent over, talking- and _laughing_ \- with Annabeth, and jealousy courses through Percy. He glares at the back of Luke's head, dragging Rachel by the elbow to the two of them.

Percy doesn't know why he doesn't get along with Luke- They used to be alright at one point of time; from all those nights with him and Grover, but somewhere in their constant competition for Annabeth's attention, the two men had grown to generally disliking each other. The last thing Percy wants right now is for Luke to think he can flirt with _his_ girlfriend (even if she isn't). Percy doesn't think of himself as particularly egoistic, but that would definitely hurt his pride. If there's one thing he's learned from Annabeth, it's to protect your pride.

"Oh- Percy! Hi!" Annabeth sounds a little out of breath, but makes space for him and Rachel to join the conversation. She looks a little pinker than usual, and brushes a strand of hair behind her ear. "Luke was just telling me-Oh, I have your drinks." She passes the two of them their drinks, leaving her empty handed. Percy looks over to Rachel, showing her the glass of rum and Coke in his hand and smirks at her. She looks impressed. The song changes just then.

"I love this song!" Rachel announces, taking a long sip from her glass. She turns to Percy. "Want to dance?"

Percy can bet she doesn't even know the song, and is just annoyed about the fact that they were so close before he'd messed it up. He wants to be excited. Really, he does- Rachel is very pretty and she's quite funny, and he definitely sees them hanging out and getting along, but Luke and Annabeth are on his other side, and for some _insane_ reason, he doesn't want to be dancing with Rachel in this moment.

"Uh, my legs feel a little weird." He says lamely, very aware of the amused look on Luke's face through their interaction. Rachel nods with a smile before disappearing in the opposite direction of the dance floor. Percy feels guilty for a second, but he looks over at the disappointed expression on Luke's face, and thinks it's worth it.

"You and Rachel good friends, then?" Luke nods in the direction she walked down.

"You could say that, sure." Percy shrugs, ignoring Annabeth's warning look to back down. "I haven't seen Audrey around anywhere, though."

"She couldn't make it." Annabeth cuts in, but Luke doesn't look flustered. He shifts his weight to the balls of his feet before standing back down, one hand playing absently with his stubble, the other tucked into his pocket.

"Oh, we broke up." He says, not looking particularly upset about it. Percy raises his brows.

"I'm sorry." He says, only to prove to Annabeth that he's trying. "That couldn't have been pleasant, since you were engaged, and all."

"Actually, it wasn't messy. See, we were never in love, or any of that- It was just convenient, until it wasn't. I guess it's a sign; That there's someone else out there for me, am I right?" He laughs lightly, but Percy doesn't miss the quick glance he gives Annabeth, who looks like she's struggling to breathe. Percy rolls his eyes- Luke's playing at her weaknesses; talking about the kinds of things she believes in.

"Love's overrated." Percy shrugs. "She was a nice woman."

"Oh, she still is, Percy." Luke agrees, although his brows are raised. "Overrated? Not very flattering to your girlfriend, is it?" He nods to Annabeth with a subtle smirk, brows raised in amusement.

Percy has to bite his tongue to stop himself from swearing. He looks over at Annabeth, who's suddenly found something very interesting on the floor.

"No, you're right. It isn't." Percy relents, still wondering how to recover from this. Then, seeing no other option, for the first time since leaving his mom's house, he speaks about his own emotions. He puts them out for everyone to see, and hopes for the best. "She's different, though. Our relationship- we don't like labels. It's built on other things, Luke. That matter. Support, trust, friendship. It's all you need."

"Interesting. I would've thought that a woman like her-"

"That's enough, Luke." Annabeth silences him with a look. Percy has the time to shoot him a smug smirk before she glares at him. "Annabeth is right here. And she doesn't like being talked about like that. Now," She takes a breath. "One of you, get me a sangria."

Her tone is a little cold, and Percy can tell she's intimidated Luke by the way he walks away without a word of protest. He marvels at her for a second before she swats him across the chest, too.

"You're the worst, Percy Jackson." She tells him, but he only grins at her, sliding his arm around her shoulders. "Why are you baiting him?"

"Because he makes it so easy." Percy laughs, and feels a certain relief when she cracks a smile. "Now come on, dance with me."

"You dance, now? With _you_?" She sounds amused.

"You know it." Percy winks at her, leading her to the dance floor, sangria and Luke long forgotten.

The two of them have been to enough dances for Percy to know exactly how Annabeth moves around him. Unfortunately, he's never made the attempt to learn himself, so he sticks to spinning her around and dipping her. When she stands up straight, her face is flushed, and she rests her hand on his shoulder. Her feet are moving too fast for him to keep up, but he tries.

"Ten years, Percy," She breathes over the music. "And you're still stepping on my toes."

He dips her again, not bothering with the apologies.

"So," He asks her when he's reached the limit to the number of times he can twirl her around. "Luke's single again. What does that mean for us?" He tries to keep the resentment out of his voice.

He expects her to laugh, tell him the game's over, that he's free to go for Rachel and that she'll be perfectly fine on her own. Instead, he sees a troubled look cross her eyes for a moment, but she shakes it off with a big smile. He hates when she doesn't tell him the whole truth, although he cant blame her. There's things he's kept bottled from her, himself, after all.

"I don't know, Percy. I don't want to stop you from doing something you want." She looks over her shoulder as if she expects Rachel to be there. "I mean, Luke's a great guy, but I don't know. He was _engaged_ , after all."

"So you're telling me you still want to be my girlfriend?" Percy loves the shy smile that she sends him. It's so rare to see Annabeth look so- _Flustered._

"Only if you'll have me." She says a second before he steps on her entire foot, sending them falling to the floor. She lands on top of him, and Percy is sure she's cracked one of his ribs. He shoves her off of him and gets to his feet, eyes watering from laughter. She struggles to move in her little black dress, but when she's on her feet again, she shoves him lightly.

"You're supposed to help me up, loser." She laughs, but Percy is in tears.

He lets her hug him, resting his chin on her shoulder and breathing in the scent of lemons and never wanting the moment to end.


	3. Chapter 2

Percy wakes up once in the middle of the night because his phone buzzes with a new message. He tries to reach for it, but finds that he can't move with Annabeth's body curled up on his chest, so he relaxes into the sheets, wrapping his arm around her and holding her close. Carefully, with his other arm, he reaches for the phone, reading the text sleepily. For a second, he wants to wake Annabeth up, show her the message and laugh about how he wouldn't want to leave New York behind and go off to _Arizona_ , but decides against it. Instead, he settles back into his original position, matching his breathing to hers and falls asleep in seconds.

oOo

The next time he's woken up is by somebody shaking him violently.

"Perce, wake up goddamn it!" He squints to see Annabeth bouncing beside him. He glares at her before turning away from him, burying his face in his pillow.

"Annabeth," He starts with a sigh. He wonders what to tell her for a minute. "Fuck off."

"Don't be like that. Get up, we're going surfing with Rach and Luke and Jason."

"You can." Percy grunts. "I'm sleeping in."

"No, you're coming with and teaching Rach how to surf. She's really shit."

"Annabeth, seriously, fuck off. And turn off that awful light."

"That's the sun."

Percy doesn't respond, and there's a silence that lets him believe he's actually going to get some sleep. Of course, Annabeth has different plans. She flops over him, and he shoots bolt upright, struggling for breath and shoving her off of him so hard that he sends her flying out the bed. She lands with a loud thud on the wooden floors, and Percy has to catch his breath before apologizing.

"I didn't realize- you're so light- Shit, are you hurt? Fuck, Annabeth, I'm so sorry-"

She cuts him off with a loud, boisterous laugh. "That's okay. At least you're up. Let's go."

It doesn't make him feel any better, but she shoves him into the bathroom with his swim trunks and calling for him to get changed fast. Hastily, he brushes his teeth and changes into a pair of red trunks that Annabeth calls his Baywatch clothes before coming out to see her slip a bottle of sunscreen into her large beach bag. When she sees him, she beams.

"We'll stop by to get some breakfast and then meet the others out at the beach. Jason said everyone was already ready so I let them go ahead. There's no way you're going to surf without something in your tummy." She pokes him, and he scowls at her.

"I'm not four." He says as they make their way to the restaurant at the resort. Annabeth sticks her tongue out at him.

"Could've fooled me." He admits he walked right into that one. He rolls his eyes as they're ushered to a table. He orders a plate of pancakes. Annabeth gets some granola. Percy narrows his eyes at her.

"Are you starving yourself for Luke again?" He knows the answer before her eyes widen, and his heart sinks. Years ago, back in college, Annabeth had developed an ED because she got too conscious of the calories she consumed. She'd made her entire life about Luke, and thought he'd never go for someone like her. Helping her heal was one of the hardest things Percy's ever had to go through, and he'll be damned if he lets it get to a point where he's being woken up in the middle of the night by his mom, telling him they have to get to the hospital, _now_ , because Annabeth's gotten really sick. He'll never forgive himself for not watching out for her.

"No, why would you think that?" Annabeth asks, not sounding convincing. Percy gives her a once over, trying to peer through her kaftan to see if she looks skinnier than usual. It's a brown and blue patterned one, so he can't tell very easily, so he shoots her a suspicious look.

"Annabeth," He doesn't even know what he's trying to say. Where does he want to go with this?

"Percy." She mimics. "I'm fine. Honest."

"We're going surfing. Get something heavier to eat." He tells her sternly. She glares back at him. "Please." He adds as an afterthought, managing to crack his voice so it sounds filled with emotion. It's the one way he knows he can get her to listen to him. Of course, like always, it works like a charm.

"I can't." She admits. "I don't know why, I'm just never hungry."

"I've known you since I was twelve years old," Percy says softly. He doesn't like how hopeless she looks right now. "And I think you're beautiful, Annabeth. You really are. I mean it. When you drop pasta sauce down your front or you eat the mushrooms off my pizza or you steal my tiramisu, even when you have your own dessert- I don't care, because you're really special to me. And you're really special to Luke, too- I can see it. So would you please just get some eggs to go with that?"

He's managed to draw out the smallest smiles out of her, and he takes this as an opening to order an omelet for her. He isn't about to let her go through all that torture- Not after she'd worked so hard to get better.

"You always know the right things to say, don't you?" She asks quietly. Percy usually gets really uncomfortable when he's having serious conversations with people, but this is Annabeth, and her health. He can't say he doesn't miss the light banter they generally shared, but right now, she needs a friend, and he's glad to fill in. He has a million ways to respond to her, but chooses not to. Instead, he leans over the table.

"Your dad's been asking about you." He starts, and she freezes. Her smile falls off her face at the mention of her father, expression turning stony. Percy knows what it's like to not get along with your dad- He didn't even get along with his step dad- but this it's different for Annabeth. Where his own dad (and step dad) couldn't care if he lived or died, Dr. Chase has been trying constantly to rekindle his relationship with his daughter. To salvage what little remains, something Annabeth is so adamant about not wanting to do. Percy, personally, would love if his real father reached out to him, probably forgive him in seconds, and it's possibly this personal preference that keeps trying to help Dr. Chase.

"What does he want?"

"To know how his daughter is." He says quietly. "He cares about you."

"Would've been helpful if he did, back when I _needed_ someone to care for me." Annabeth snaps.

"It takes a lot of strength to forgive someone." Percy tells her. She doesn't soften.

"Don't fucking tell _me_ about forgiving people." And she's right. She forgives too fast, too easily. People who know this about her, of course, use it to manipulate her. He can't say Annabeth's had the easiest life. "He's here now, because I've built my own life- that he's _not_ a part of- and he isn't responsible for me, anymore, thank the gods."

"I still think it's fucking _absurd_ that you say gods." Percy decides to change the subject before Annabeth blows her top. He's afraid she'll start steaming soon, and if he's going to talk to her about the offer at Arizona, he needs her to be completely calm and at ease.

"Paganism." She snaps, like she wants to ignore him but she can't overlook such ignorance. "Twelve major gods. You say it too."

"Only because I've heard it from you, like, a hundred times a day."

"Whatever, Percy." Annabeth rolls her eyes.

"Stop letting him get to you like that." Percy says. His tone isn't accusatory, but it's lost the kindness it had a moment ago.

As a child, Annabeth had everything laid to her in a silver platter- The latest gadgets and the fanciest clothes. It's probably because she came from a long line of rich brats, Percy thinks. She's no less a rich brat, but she'd cut herself off completely from the Chase family and all it stood for, choosing to be her own kind of rich brat- The kind that worked for the money she spends, having started out from nothing.

He remembers the times she'd crash on his couch in summer because she wasn't going back to her father's house, and she didn't have any money to pay rent anywhere else. She'd work odd jobs at Olive Garden and Macy's to pay for a place to stay, but landlords were biased about women and she'd find herself getting evicted way too often. She'd worked hard to get where she is, and Percy thinks she deserves the pride she wears like a second skin.

"You're right." She says tightly.

"You should talk to-"

"No. Oh look, breakfast is served!"

And that was that.

oOo

When Annabeth said Rachel couldn't surf, Percy expected her to be bad. Like, I-can't-stand-on-my-board kind of bad. He didn't think she was _this_ bad.

"Rachel, you literally just have to paddle with your arms." He calls out, lying stomach down on the board and looking over at her flailing arms. "In the water!" He tries to clarify, pushing himself off the board as he floats over a particularly large wave. The same wave that slaps Rachel in the face and sends her slipping off her board with a scream.

"Rach, stay on the board!" Annabeth calls unhelpfully from somewhere in the front, but everyone can hear the laughter in her voice. With a resigned sigh, Percy paddles over to her, helping her get back on her board.

"Okay, Rachel. The next time a wave approaches, push your chest off the board with your arms. Like this." Percy demonstrates. Rachel nods, pushing some of her red hair out of her face.

"Got it." She says, just as a wave approaches them.

"Paddle till the last moment!" Percy calls as he pushes himself over the wave before looking back at her. She's almost got it, except she doesn't paddle as soon as she's over the wave, and gets pushed back to her original position. With a roll of his eyes, Percy gives up.

"Just stay there. One of the waves will take you back to the beach." He tells her sarcastically, and can tell she's about to bite back with a snarky comment, but a loud squeal attracts both their attention.

Annabeth is cutting through a large wave, one arm outstretched and the other holding her board. She screams in delight as she rides the wave, calling out to them as she passes them by,

"See you at the beach, losers!"

"Oh, you're _on_ , Chase." Percy yells back, abandoning Rachel and paddling out into the blue. He doesn't spare a glance backwards as he paddles up until he sees a large, beautiful wave forming. He turns his board around, preparing himself for it. He catches it easily, cutting across it and passing Jason, who's paddling back out, and then Rachel, who's so distracted watching him that his wave downs her again. She struggles back to her board, but Percy can't be bothered. The wind is in his hair, and the sea sprays water on his face, and he feels like he can do anything.

When he gets closer to the shore, he bends a little lower to slow down, but he sees Annabeth (and Luke), crouched over something, her board floating a little further away from her, looking at the rocks like it's the most interesting thing she's ever seen. When she sees Percy, she gestures for him to join her. He gets off his surfboard and approaches the two of them slowly.

They're crouched over a little shell glistening in the sunlight. The inside is bright, shimmering between the soft ripples of the water.

"That's-" Percy recognizes it almost instantly.

"Mother of pearl." Luke finishes for him, for the first time not trying to mock Percy. The three of them look at the shell in awe. "I wish we could pick it up." Luke murmurs.

"No, it's a part of the sea. Don't touch it." Annabeth says.

"She's right. It's best to leave everything in the sea to itself." Percy nods.

"I love it. It's just so pretty." Annabeth says dreamily. Luke looks up at her like she's so much more precious.

"Yeah, okay, great. Luke, aren't you going to surf?" Percy nods to Luke, who snaps out of his thoughts and sends him a wicked grin.

"I should get in. You guys want to compete? We'll get Rach to judge, she's not getting very far, is she?" He laughs, nodding to Rachel, who seems to have given up, lying on her board making no attempt to move.

The rest of the morning, the five of them spend on the beach. Percy spends a significantly longer time with Rachel than he does with the others. He doesn't really complain.

"You know, Percy," She tells him as they're all starting to head back. He looks down at her from the bottom curve of his shades to show her she's got his attention. "I'm not dumb. I know what's happening between the two of us."

"Okay." Percy says, mostly because she pauses for too long. They're walking ahead of the others.

"I just want to let you know- A lot of people I've been with, they think I'm interested in building something out of it. I'm not. I don't- I don't want this to be tied to any emotions."

"Absolutely." Percy never thought he'd hear these words from Rachel. Could she be more perfect?

"What I mean is, this can't go on forever. I'm not in it for the long run. Is that okay?" She sounds unsure, like she thinks he doesn't understand. "Now's your chance to tell me you don't do that and walk out?"

Percy shrugs. "No, really. It works for me. Perfectly."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Look, I'm not the kind of guy you'd fall in love with. Or the kind who falls in love. It's all just a concept that humans came up with to make themselves feel good about wanting someone for a long while."

"You're lying. That's exactly what _I_ always say!"

"Yeah and you see people like Annabeth, or my mom, looking out for love and spending their entire life waiting for that one person who's probably got eight hundred things on their mind that _isn't them_ , waiting so patiently for them."

"You don't get along with your mom?" Rachel asks quietly. Percy's shocked she'd even come to that conclusion.

"What? No! I lov- Well, she's the only person in the world I'd admit I love. And I care for her deeply. But she's not unlike Annabeth. It's frustrating, to see people you care about fall down this rabbit hole, you know? Waiting hopelessly for someone to come into their life and change it, all of a sudden. It's just not logical, you know? It's surprising, because Annabeth's like that. The most reasonable person I've ever met - She thinks Luke's _it_. There's tons of guys at work that ogle her- I've seen it. She hardly pays them any attention. She's missing out, and it's really sad to see."

"I know exactly what you mean." Rachel says quietly. "I've never seen people in 'love' be happy." She makes quotes in the air. "I mean, sure. They're happy for the first two days, weeks, months. It's not lasting, though, is it? It must be so boring to be hung up on one person; the same one for your entire life. And to wait for them to turn up?" She snorts. "That's for people who watch too many romantic movies."

Percy watches a _lot_ of romantic movies with Annabeth and his mom. He chooses to keep that to himself.

"It's dumb." Rachel finally decides, turning around to look at the others who were trailing long behind them. Percy follows her gaze to see Annabeth giving Jason a piggyback ride- Or trying to, rather. They can hear their laughter over the waves and she's hunched so low, she's almost doubled over. Jason has his arms held up in victory and Luke, who's walking beside them, is also laughing loudly.

"You know," Rachel says quietly as they slow down for their friends to catch up with them. Percy reckons it's going to take a while, if that's the pace they're moving at. "Annabeth was my best friend, back in college. I never understood how we got along- We're polar opposites. The only thing we had in common was sarcasm and our halls at college."

"We've all been there with Annabeth." Percy agrees, thinking about the first time he'd spoken to her. He'd just moved into her school, and she'd been a right bitch to him. Understandable, he thinks, because she was the most popular twelve year old in school and he was the newbie. He'd only started to like her a little when she volunteered to partner up with him for a history project (Not his strongest subject, and definitely not his favorite teacher) and they'd been attached at the hip since.

"No, you don't get it, Percy. For the whole of my first semester, Freshman year, I resented her. Perfect scores on all her essays, but dyslexic. She partied more than I did, met more people that I could. People were either terrified of her or loved her. People wanted to be with her- Be seen with her, be her friend. It's not hard to be jealous of a person like her. I didn't know what the difference between us was; What the _real_ difference was, I mean. The one conflicting belief we held that made us so different- Humans are easy to understand, that way."

"Really? You wanted to be _popular_?" Percy teases, mostly because he's afraid Rachel's going to say mean things about Annabeth and he's going to have to sock her out cold.

"She'd disappear every weekend, though." Rachel ignores him. "Someone who got as much attention as she did- It was easy to notice her absence. Nowhere to be seen. When we were lucky enough to see her, she always had this one guy with her. He- Well, he was really hot, not going to lie. I asked if you guys were dating, and she laughed. Told me you were best friends, and she loved you to bits and couldn't imagine a life without you."

"She's weird about friends like that." Percy laughs, scratching the back of his neck. The sun was making his skin itch.

"Yeah, see- We got along famously after that, but the point is, people like Annabeth- Her emotions are pretty intense. She comes across as very rational because she's always thinking, Percy, but a lot of the time, she thinks with her heart." Percy doesn't like her tone and immediately finds the need to defend Annabeth.  
"You don't know what she's been through- For her to still have a heart,-"

"Why does she want to be an architect, Percy?"

"To build something permanent." Percy recites automatically. He's heard it so many times. "Something that can withstand the test of time."

"And why is she after something so… Permanent?" Rachel pushes.

"Because nothing in her life has ever been permanent."

"She build her career on something that happened in her past. Purely out of emotion." Percy lets that sink in. He'd never thought of it that way. Apart from this whole being in love with Luke thing, he's never thought of her as particularly emotional. "And why'd she help you out with that history project in the sixth grade? Oh yeah, she talks about you _all_ the time. I've heard the story." Rachel adds at his surprised expression.

"Because she wanted to prove to the teacher that she could do a good job, even with-" Percy pauses, before huffing out the rest of his sentence. "The weakest student in class."

"Pride." Rachel summarizes. "Emotion. See?"

Percy remains silent, watching Annabeth. It's like he's seeing her in a completely different light. To him, she's always been his best friend. He didn't care what she was like- She could've been a serial killer and he'd still have stuck with her through it all. Well- maybe not a serial killer, but you get the point.

"Why are we talking about her?" He asks, mostly so they can stop discussing her.

"Because, weird as this sounds, she's a big part of your life. I can sense it. And I just wanted to be sure that you understood that."

"Okay." Percy's never thought of Annabeth as a part of his life, but the more aware of it he is, the more he wants to unwind himself from her. He feels a little sick in his stomach, and he wants to leave as soon as he can.

"Percy," Rachel's voice falters, and she looks conflicted. Like she can't decide whether to say it or not. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "I didn't explain that right. Annabeth _loves_ people. I expect it's easy for her to get confused about what kind of love she's feeling."

Percy stares at her.

"Oh- no." He laughs shakily. The others are close to them. "No, no. I- No. Not Annabeth. She's my best friend, that's all we are." Rachel raises her brows, but nods as the others catch up with them. Luke is laughing about something Jason did when they were at the beach, and she catches his eye over Annabeth's bent head.

"Okay, then."

oOo

For the rest of the day, Percy tries his best to avoid Annabeth, which is hard when he's pretending that they're dating without actually so much as meeting her eye. He knows he's hurting her right now, but something about the way Rachel had said, like she knew for a fact- that Annabeth was a part of _him_ made him uneasy. Maybe it's because he hates being associated with anyone. Maybe it's too intimate for him.

Maybe it's because it's the truth.

He's sitting with Grover on the large balcony of the restaurant, completely ignoring his bottle of cola, that's probably flat and warm now. He feels most comfortable with Grover, who's been a friend to him for a while now.

"I can't tell if she's into me or not?" He says about a particular redheaded maid of honor. Grover shrugs.

"I don't know what to say, Perce. If there was something I _did_ want to talk to you about, though, it would be your relationship with Annabeth."

"Not you too." Percy groans. Grover frowns, but ignores him.

"This fake dating thing. It's dangerous."

"What?" Percy snorts out a laugh. He can't think of a single way their little fabrication has done anything but drive Luke up a wall, and in his eyes, that's a success.

"You may be completely thick skinned and entirely unable to accept your emotions, but she isn't." Grover says, but Percy's struck by his choice of words. He's never been told to accept his emotions. It's the dumbest thing he's heard. He hopes Grover isn't having a midlife crisis at twenty five.

"Okay, G-Man. We're friends, I'm- hopefully- spending the night with Rachel today. Tomorrow's the wedding, and we're taking the first flight out the day after that. It's simple and quick. Nothing to worry about."

"I wish you guys would just look at each other once. Like, really _look_. See how much you care about each other." Grover sighs, swirling his smoothie before taking a long sip. "How she looks at you, or knows your drink order, or sneaks a glance at you every now and then."

"Grover, you _know_ she's been pining for Castellan for who knows how long." Percy laughs, but he can't keep the resentment out of his voice.

"Long enough for her to get mixed up in the excitement." Grover points out. "Honestly, Percy, you've said it yourself. There's a million idiots out there dying for a chance to get with her. That doesn't bother you, does it?"

"No. Because they're just nobodies. They can't hurt her the way Luke could."

"Percy, _consider it_." Grover says, voice quiet. "Luke is a good guy. Why are you really so against him?"

"If he gets with her, Grover, I'm sure he's going to somehow manipulate her into completely cutting me out of her life." Even Percy is surprised by the harsh tone to his voice.

"You know she's smarter than to let anybody manipulate her."

"She's weak when it comes to Luke."

"He cares for her, Percy. He'd never want to take away what makes her happy. Including you. Consider it. Why not the others?"

"I don't know." Percy sinks into his seat, feeling defeated. He's a mess, right now. He hasn't spoken to Annabeth all day, but spent so much time talking about her that it's giving him a headache.

"Do you think it's because, well," Grover continues softly. "They're incompetent?"

"What?"

"That they stand no chance of getting closer to Annabeth than you are, and so you might be taking it for granted?"

"No- What? No. She's _not a trophy_. She's a human being- A damn good one at that. If anyone was competing with me for Annabeth- I would-" Percy growls.

"That's not even close to what I said and you know it." Grover cuts him off easily. "You said it yourself, Perce. Nobodies. You don't care for them- It's the other _somebodies_ in her life that worry you. Jason's like her brother, and that only leaves… well, Luke. Remember, love means different things for different people."

Percy stays silent for a while. Then, he claps his hands on his knees.

"Yeah, alright. I'm going to take a shower, go out with Jason, get smashed out of my mind and then sleep with Rachel Elizabeth Dare." Percy announces, getting to his feet, Coke abandoned. "Are you coming out tonight?"

"No, I'm not, but you have fun, Perce." Grover sighs sadly.

oOo

"You're avoiding me." It's a statement, not a question. Percy looks around to see Annabeth standing behind him, arms crossed over her chest. She's glaring daggers at him. He tries to smile sheepishly.

"Me? Avoid you? Aw, sweetheart, you should know that I'd _never_ -"

"Cut the shit. What's going on?"

"Luke's interested in you." Percy's lie comes off even more smoothly because it's the truth. "And I'm just stepping back for him to sweep you off your feet. From right under my nose." He grumbles the last part, for the first time wondering what that could mean for their already strained relationship. "Now's your chance, Annabeth. Don't let me hold you back."

The words have a bitter taste and he can't shake off the strange feeling of dread growing on him. What if Luke and Annabeth do get together? Will she still let him crash on her couch? Will she stop talking to him entirely? Does he really mind?

"You're doing that… for me?" Annabeth sounds mystified, like she can't imagine people doing things for her. Percy understands why, but it only serves to increase his guilt.

Truth be told, Grover's words had really struck a chord with him, and it had become harder than ever to pretend he's happy about Luke and Annabeth. Not unlike Luke, he does want her to be happy, but he can't bring himself to accept that her happiness could mean not having her around as much. His entire brain is screaming for him to let her go, but there's a tiny voice in his head telling him to hold on. He'd argued with Grover about her being a human being, but what was he doing, right now? He feels like a hypocrite.

"Of course, babe." He pulls her into a hug, but she wrestles out.

"I need to take a shower. I'm sweaty."

"Alright, fine." Percy laughs, pushing her gently into the bathroom. "Go away, Stinky."

When they're both showered, Annabeth plops down to the bed beside Percy. They remain silent for a while. He looks over at her. She's all set to get to Piper's bachelorette party, it seems like, because her eyeliner is winged and she's got her favorite bronze eye shadow on. Percy notices the fact that she's wearing a peach lace crop top over her skirt, for some reason, and can't seem to shake it out of his head.

"You're wearing a _crop top_ to a bachelorette party?"  
"Would you like to borrow one?"

"Do you think my polo is too boring?"

"I know it is, Seaweed Brain. That's alright. Just go have some fun."

"You bet I will." He winks at her and she rolls her eyes. "What are you girls out doing?"

"No idea. Piper invited me- I think it was out of courtesy, really- but Thals and Rach are going to be there so, how bad can it be?"

"You could die of alcohol poisoning." Percy wonders out loud. "Realize that everyone's ditched you and get stranded alone, in Hawaii, the place Luke calls the Island of _Love_!" He fakes enthusiasm, earning a smack from Annabeth. He rubs his chest where she hit him with a scowl. "No need to get violent."

"No need to be annoying." She mocks lamely.

"How are you so pathetic," Percy asks. "And still my best friend?"

"I ask myself the same thing." She must realize how dumb she sounds and shrinks into the sheets. "Please ignore that."

"Annabeth Chase. Genius on the streets." Percy looks down at her, curling into the covers. "Absolute numbskull in the sheets." He wiggles his brows and she scowls at him.

"You're just the most painful person I've ever met." She states.

"And Luke is?" He asks, a little because he wants to know where she stands with him, and mostly because he knows that if Luke's also tagged with an affectionate insult, they're serious. Her eyes turn a little dreamy, but it's not as bad as it used to be when she was in college. She looks like she's thinking of a fond memory, not envisioning a picket fence future for them.

"He's… Something." She says, looking at him as if just realizing he's actually listening. "it's funny, Perce. I feel like I'm talking to a different person, now. He reminded me of you, in college. And now, I mean."

"And now?"

"He's just changed. He isn't into casual dating anymore. Wants to find the One and get married, have kids. That kind of thing. Wants to start a family."

"I want kids." Percy whines. He doesn't like this new Luke any more than he did the old one.

"You want me to give you my first two children. It's not the same." Annabeth says absently.

"Yeah, but you can keep the rest."

"I'm not giving up my kids to a man who's going to have different women coming in every week." Annabeth decides. "I want them to have a mom who loves them and looks after them and is involved in their lives." Her tone is sad, longing. Percy reaches out and takes her face in his hands, angling it so he can look into her big eyes.

"You'll be a great mom. I promise." He tells her quietly. "Your kids are going to be the luckiest in the world."

"Thank you." She mouths before clearing her throat and averting her eyes. "And for the record," she mumbles. "I'd give you one. Just because your kids would have the best dad every to exist."

"Aw, man. Just one?" Percy likes how there's a small smile creeping up on her face. Her eyes sparkle.

"Out of my nine- Sure." Annabeth nods with a laugh. There's a loud knock on the door and Thalia's voice yells over the wood for Annabeth to get out. She shoots up and out of the bed. She fixes her hair in the mirror. "Does it look like I just rolled out of bed?"

"You look like you had a good time in bed." Percy nods earnestly, earning another glare. "I'm kidding, _babe_. You look fantastic. Now get out there and kick some ass."

"It's a bachelorette party."

"Fuck some ass then, I don't know." Percy waves her off but she's already out the door.

He falls back into his pillow.

He can't possibly have romantic feelings towards her, can he?

 _That dork_? His brain asks him with a scoff. _Right_.

oOo


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm really sorry for the late update! I was just starting up my laptop to post it when my six year old machine crashed and burned and I went through a grieving phase but I'm back! Hope you like it, because with this, we come to a close of this small fic! xx**

The bachelor party, as Percy had hoped, involves a lot of drinking.

"Jason," He slurs a little. "I'm going to tell you a secret."

"You know Percy," Jason tells him, eyes bleary. He throws his arms around him. "I don't tell you enough how great it is to have you in my life. It would be an honor-" He draws a long breath. "To learn the secrets of your life."

"I'm not dating Annabeth." Percy starts slowly with a loud laugh. This gets Luke's attention, and he slumps closer to them. Percy points a shaky finger at him. "I lied. Because of this guy." He laughs, and Luke's brows pull together in a frown before he beams and points his thumb to his chest.

"Me?" He cackles loudly. "Wow. _Me_!"

"I don't know anybody here well enough to be confessing." Percy continues, ignoring Luke. "But my ex stepdad was an alcoholic. And he abused me. Told myself I'd never touch this stuff." He points to his empty shot glass. "But life's fucking _hard_ , man. I mean- I _love_ alcohol."

"That's deep, bro." Michael Yew, one of the groomsmen says quietly before ordering another round of shots. Percy decides that's enough for him.

"It's fucking deep, bro." Percy agrees after a while. "But you can't live in fear of what might happen in the future because it happened in the past, you know? Besides, Smelly Gabe and me- we're not the same people, dude."

" _Fuck_ , Percy." Jason drawls. "I'm going to tell you a secret now." He hunches forward and everyone gathers closer. "I'm getting married to the girl of my dreams tomorrow." He whispers loudly. All the men scream loudly. "And I'm feeling fucking _awesome_."

"Yeah, man. That's such a cool thing to feel." Luke nods earnestly. "I almost married this girl because I want to have kids." He confesses with a loud laugh. " _So badly_ , you don't get it. And I ditched and I'm so glad, because Annabeth is, like, _really_ pretty, man. Prettier than Audrey. She'd do _great_ , right? And I mean, I'm a lawyer. I know how to get sole custody when we get a divorce."

Even in his intoxicated state, this annoys Percy.

"Hey, man, that's fucking _shallow_." He says, but Luke only shrugs.

"You're just too deep."

"I think she's in love with you." Percy argues quietly. He'd been getting along with Luke for a while now, and he's frankly a little bummed out that they can't continue to be civil to each other.

"Love's a myth, man. She'll get over it."

"You guys are dumbasses." Jason says loudly. Michael Yew laughs. "Love's not a myth, idiots. It's a _feeling_. You don't know what it is until you actually think about it. And you guys-" He pauses. "I feel sorry for you for not being able to…" He struggles for the word, and instead, moves his arms like he's hugging an invisible person. " _Embrace_ it."

"Annabeth's fucking hard to love, man." Luke whines, at the same time Percy's face lights up.

"Do you think I love Rachel?"

"She's like those _perfect_ people." Luke laments.

"I mean, I wanted to spend the night with her, but here I am…"

"Nothing she can ever do will make you feel like you deserve someone that pure."

"Maybe I should call her."

"It's so strange to feel that way. I've been told I'm really full of myself."

"I need to sober up a little. I'll wait." Percy decides.

There's a silence as the other men watch the two of them. Then, Jason lets out a huff.

"Man, Luke- You're _whipped_."  
"What?" Luke looks around wildly as if Jason had told him there's a tarantula on his shoulder.

"You love her." Michael continues. "Annabeth." He clarifies at Luke's mystified expression. "All this while, you've been pretending to care about her and her beliefs, just so you can use her. It's kind of sick, but you played the game too long and you got caught." Michael elaborates.

Luke's eyes are wide with wonder.

"Is this it, then?" He asks slowly. "I mean, she's like, really cool. She gets excited about the dumbest things. Like fucking shells. At the _beach_. She told me she kissed Percy when she was fourteen because she was afraid she was a bad kisser. So she _tested_ it on him."

"Shut up about Annabeth, Luke." Percy yells a little too loud. "If you're in love with her- And she's in love with you…" He says loudly, unsure of where he's going with this. Luke looks like he's just given him an idea.

"I could tell her, right?"

"You should tell her, man." Jason drawls.

"I could tell Rachel!" Percy announces excitedly.

"You're not in love with her, bro." Jason says sympathetically. Percy earns a lot of comforting pats on the back. "I'm sorry. Maybe you're in love with Grover?" Jason suggests helpfully. Percy considers it for a while.

"I don't know, man. I don't think I'm cut out for this." Percy says sadly. "I just- don't understand. Love stinks, sometimes." He reaches out to Luke. "Before you tell her, just wait. My mom- she's a great woman, you guys would love her- she was in love with my dad. He left her, man. And then she fell in love with this crazy psychopath who'd get drunk and hit her. And now she's dating this other guy- I mean he seems cool, right? Except I'd bet he's just a dick, too. And my mom, she's a cool lady. Deserves a king, but doesn't _need_ one. You know what that makes me think of love? It's a waste of time and energy."

"Maybe I shouldn't get married." Jason wonders.

"What if Annabeth leaves me?" Luke asks, sounding close to tears.

"And the second you tell her, Luke… She's going to leave me." Percy's voice cracks at the end. "But if you're going to promise never to leave her side, to always be there for her- Watch her back but never treat her as some kind of charity case- Promise to make sure that smile never slips off her face…" He gulps loudly. The words are harder to get out than he's willing to admit.

"I'll make your job easier. _I'll_ cut _her_ out of my life."

oOo

Percy knows he sobered down sometime later that night, although he can't be sure when. His mind is still reeling with the Luke revelation, and he runs into Rachel when they get back to the hotel. He wants to say hi, but he drinks her in, in her little black dress and lovely red curls, and all that comes out is,

"Where's Annabeth?" Because right now, he doesn't care about Rachel. He wants to get to Annabeth before Luke does. Tell her how he was pretending the whole time. _Except_ , a voice tells him, _he's not anymore. Do you really want to hurt her when she could be happy_?

"Percy," She says slowly, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his face to hers. "I'm going to kiss you now. Is that okay?"

"Depends. Are you drunk?"

"Not very."

"Then not yet." Percy says gently stepping away. "I want you to be sure that you want to do this, because it's not cool to sleep with someone who's drunk." Rachel nods without a question, downing a bottle of water.

"I'll take fifteen minutes. Want to wait with me?"

He follows her to her room and plops down on her bed, far enough back for his legs to dangle. The two of them sit in silence. He doesn't know what she's thinking about, but he can't stop wondering what Luke and Annabeth are doing right now.

He thinks back to the time he got his first (and only) tattoo on his lower back. For some reason, this seems to be the most important memory he can conjure. It's a little trident, and it hurt enough to reduce him to tears, so he held onto Annabeth's hand like his life depended on it. When the tattoo artist finally pulled away, she placed a finger on it, and he can swear it sent sparks flying through him. If she felt it, she didn't show any signs of it, instead moving around him and settling onto the seat next to him.

"I get to squeeze the blood out of _your_ hand while I get my piercing." She'd stated, and no doubt, lived up to her words. He can swear he'd lost all sensation on his hand for the little gem in her belly.

Suddenly, he can't stop thinking about her. How she'd complain about her hair not being straight or curly, but _wavy_. Or the way her eyes could look a dark black or a cool blue based on her emotions, that she carried around on her sleeve. He likes her laugh. It's a little ugly, but it's contagious. He thinks it's most entertaining to watch her try to find a way around using the word February because she can't pronounce it. He finds it funny how everyone holds her at this unattainable position, because she's just such a _goober_. He used to be able to impress her with the silliest things; like showing her how to read a compass. She'd look up at him in wonder and say, 'Percy, that's _so cool_!' He's shared _so much_ with Annabeth-

"Oh my gods." He mutters, looking up at Rachel. Things are starting to make sense. The world is rotating too fast, and he feels dizzy. "Rach- Oh my _gods_."

"What?" She asks innocently, eyes large. She's definitely sobered down, but Percy is too distracted. Adrenaline is coursing through his veins and his ADHD from when he was younger is suddenly starting to act up. He jumps to his feet.

"You- Grover- _Jason_." He says hurriedly, pacing around her room. "You guys were all talking about it, and it made no sense, but- Oh my gods, together it just- you're all _right_." Like pieces of a puzzle coming together.

"Percy, what are you talking about?" Rachel crosses her arms over her chest.

"I'm not like you." He screams in excitement. Dread is starting to fill him and he wants to get as many words out as he can before he passes out. "See you said it. Rationality- It's overrated. Because it doesn't tell you the difference between nonchalance and jealousy. You gotta-" He makes wild motions with his arms. " _Embrace_ it!"

"I have no clue what you're on about but I'm sober-"

"No, Rachel. I'm so sorry, but I can't. I- I can't do this. I don't know how to make it up to you, but I will, some time. I have- I have to go. It's just." He pauses, hand on the doorknob. "That _dork_."

"You're not making any sense!" Rachel screams, a little angrily but Percy is already out the door.

He needs to talk to somebody, to sort out everything that's whirling inside him. All these- _emotions_. He needs to calm down. He takes off down the beach. It's only when he's completely out of breath that he plops down on the sand and pulls out his phone. He isn't sure who to talk to.

His first choice is Annabeth, of course, except how is he supposed to explain everything that's happened over the past two days- everything he's been hiding from her- and then expect her to stick around to give him her two cents. She's completely out of the question.

He wonders if he should call Hazel, one of his best friends back at home, but decides against it. Again, there's too much that he has to explain, and he can't be bothered to spend all that time. He needs answers, and fast.

Grover? The man did know a lot of what was going on. Still, he doesn't seem like the person Percy really wants to talk to. This has to be someone who'd listen more than give advice, and- _Oh_.

The answer is so simple, he can't believe it wasn't his first thought. Someone who knows him so well, who doesn't even need the whole story to be able to put it together. He doesn't bother looking for her contact, instead just dialing it in directly. It rings a couple of times before she answers.

"Percy? Are you alright? It's like, four in the morning!"

"It's three, Mom." Percy smiles. "And I'm fine. I miss you." There's a pause.

"Oh, sweetheart, I miss you too. Are you drunk?"

"No, Mom. I've got to talk to you, and it can't wait."  
Sally Jackson laughs breathily into the phone. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I need your help, though." Percy has to swallow hard and concentrate every muscle in his body to relax as he pulls the words out of his mouth. "I- I'm in a tough spot."

"What's going on, Percy?"

"I- I think I might be in love with this girl." There's a long pause. When she replies, Percy can tell she's suppressing a smile.

"Have you told Annabeth?"

"What? What is this about Annabeth? Why would I tell her?" Percy asks, too quickly. There's another pause, and he can picture his mom holding her hand over her mouth to hide her smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just meant, because you know, she's your best friend and all."

"No. I didn't. You're the first person I'm telling. Let's name this girl something, I don't know-"

"Not Annabeth." His mom says with a laugh.

" _Not_ Annabeth." Percy agrees violently. "It's alright. She doesn't need a name."

"Alright, go ahead."

"She's in love with another man. Who's in love with her. And for her to be happy, I'm going to have to take a step away from her, because the man and me- We're not the best two people to be stuck on an island with, you know?"

"Let's call this man, I don't know- Not Luke?" His mom jokes, but he ignores her. She's too involved in both, his and Annabeth's lives for him to be able to hide _anything_ from her.

"I've just learned something about myself, Mom." His voice cracks a little. "Ever since Smelly Gabe-" He can't bring himself to say it. "Started his _habits_ , Mom- I tried so hard to ignore my feelings. It became a sign of weakness, for him. He'd threaten Annabeth when he was mad at me, after a while. For me, it was survival."

"Percy, sweetie, I'm so sorry-"

" _No_." Percy says, a little harshly. Anger makes his vision tinge red. "You never have to apologize for that asshole. _Never_." He takes a long, shaky breath, revisiting the worst moments of his life. Himself crying in a corner, his mother fixing up his split lip. Him spending the night with Annabeth, who'd hold his hand as he cried because he was scared of what was happening to his mom. "No, Mom. I hid a part of myself away until it became a habit. I pretended it didn't exist until I believed it. But it _does_. And it's hitting me like a ton of bricks. I'm so scared, Mom. What does this mean?"

"Percy," His mom's voice is soft and comforting, like hot chocolate on a cold day. "I know you're scared, and that you think that it's tearing down everything you stand for. But think back to why this started. Because of me. My failed relationships. What have I always told you?"

"A lot of things." Percy points out.

"One of which was that different people react differently to things. You can't try to base your life off the way I've been living mine. You're _Percy Jackson_. That's you- Just you. So now tell me, what does Percy Jackson _feel_ like doing?"

"Like talking to his mom about how much his life sucks because he's lost his best friend to a douche bag who turned out to be a pretty cool guy who's still a douche bag."

"No, that's what you think you should do. What are you feeling?"

"Like I should do right by Annabeth. Tell her how I _feel_."

"To stop her from going off with Luke?" He can tell from her tone that if he'd answered yes, she'd be disappointed. Instead, he answers truthfully.

"Because I want to be open and honest with her. I'm coming home early, Mom." He says miserably. "And I'm going to pack. My boss texted me about a job in Arizona that I was going to turn down, but now I think I'll consider it."

"Percy-"

"I want to. This is too much to have to handle. I want some time on my own, to come to terms with- all of this."

"Alright, dear. Whatever you feel is best for yourself."

He hangs up, stuffing his fists in his pockets and wandering back to the hotel. He heads straight back to his room, and opens the door to the sight of Luke, his arm around Annabeth, who's shifting in the sheets, both sound asleep.

Percy takes a deep breath to steady himself. He considers waking her up for the second time in forty eight hours, and just like the previous time, he decides against it, instead silently moving around them to pick up all his stuff and dump it into his bag. Before he leaves, though, he writes out two little words on a piece of paper, tucking it under the lamp beside Annabeth.

 _I'm sorry_.

oOo

Percy takes a taxi back to the airport and takes the next flight out and back home to New York. Instead of getting back to his apartment, though, he decides to head straight to his mother's. When she sees him at the door, her smile melts into something more worried. She pulls him into a long hug- Just the kind he needs. He's a little surprised to see Paul Blofis there.

It's a little past seven in the night, which means it's about lunch time at Hawaii, meaning that Annabeth's probably noticed he's missing, and hopefully found his note of apology. He checks his phone for a message screaming at him for ditching.

There's nothing.

"Hi, Percy." Paul shakes his hand, but must sense something's wrong, because he immediately backs off. "I'm going to go do the dishes, Sally. Would you like some spaghetti, Percy?"

"No, I'm good." Percy waves him off, but he's impressed by Paul's offering to do the dishes. He softens up to him a little. He might even seem _cool_. After Paul disappears into the kitchen, his mom sits him down on the couch.

"She isn't going to text you." She says after he checks his phone for the millionth time. He looks up, surprised. "She was worried sick about you when she couldn't find you this morning. Called me in tears."

"And what'd you say?"

"That you were on your way back to New York because you got a text from your boss." It's not a complete lie, but it's not the truth, either. He lets out a sigh of relief. "She wants to see you the second she lands."

"I'm supposed to be at Phoenix by Tuesday." Percy says, trying to avoid talking about Annabeth.

"It's Saturday. You're hiding again."

"I can't see her."

"You left her in tears, Percy. It's the least you can do."

"Mom-"

"Why don't the two of you come over for lunch, then? You can discuss it right here, and if it gets too stressful, I'll help you out." She smiles a kind smile at him and his resolve melts.

"Okay, alright."

oOo

"You're the _worst_." Is how Annabeth greets him when he opens the door for her. She swats his arm not too lightly. "Hi Sally, Paul. If you guys don't mind," She grabs Percy by the shirt and drags him towards his old room. "I need to have a talk with this godawful, painful human being who happens to be my best friend." Her voice cracks and her eyes glisten with tears. She looks miserable.

"Have fun, dear!" Percy's mom calls with a large smile. Annabeth slams the door shut behind her, and Percy backs away slowly until he's sitting on his chair. He wheels it back a little as Annabeth advances on him.

"Nothing." She says finally with a glare. "You left me with _nothing_."

"Actually,-"

"Oh yeah, 'I'm sorry'." She mocks. " _Helpful_. I was so worried!"

"I didn't want to wake you up."

"And you're moving to _Arizona_?" She says it like it's a disease, and Percy's offended by that.

"Hey, what's wrong with Arizona?"

"You didn't even tell me! You-"

"You were too busy with Luke, weren't you? How is he, anyway? I didn't want to wake you up because you were curled up into him like a little fucking kitten." He snaps. "And I didn't want to stay around to watch you slowly choose him over me."

She looks like he's just slapped her. Shock melts into anger.

"That's what this is about? _Luke_?"

"Oh, don't stand up for him. He's a fantastic guy, he'll marry you and give you all the perfect blonde babies you want and you can fucking-" Percy doesn't know how he got so angry or why he's yelling so loudly.

"STOP TALKING ABOUT LUKE!" Annabeth screeches, eyes red and lips pulled down.

"Fine." Percy gives up. "Fine. You have nothing to worry about, because I won't be talking to you about Luke anymore. I won't be talking to you, anymore. Period."

Annabeth looks devastated. She doesn't move. She stares at the ground like it had just told her that her seventy year old cat died. Unsurprised, but miserable. A single tear rolls down her cheek. She takes a breath, and Percy doesn't know what to say. He regrets his words, but he knows he can't keep this up. His feelings for her are always going to interfere, and there's no fixing this.

"If you're not going to talk to me," She finally says, struggling to keep her voice steady. Percy glares at her, holding his ground. "That's alright. I'm here to talk to you." She sits down on the edge of the bed, gaze still fixated on the floor. "That night, Luke came into our- my room. He told me he was in love with me. I was over the moon until he kissed me. And- Nothing. I learned something, then. It wasn't him. It never was. I'd gotten so used to the idea of pining for him, Percy, it just became a part of me. I don't know when I actually got over him, but there was definitely enough time for me to have done that and also fallen in love- Really in love, with someone else." She takes a deep breath, and Percy stares at her. "And I'm in a really tough spot now, Percy, because the man I actually _do_ love- He's such a great guy, except he'd never fall for a girl like me. Or anyone at all, because he doesn't even _believe_ in love." Another deep breath, a lot shakier this time like she's terrified of actually saying it. "I'm in some real shit, Percy Jackson, because I was too dumb to see it before. Luke is perfect. He's kind and pleasant and never argues with me. He's always outright with what he's thinking and he's so easy to be with, but I don't love him. I'll never be able to, either, because-" Her voice cracks, and a tear falls onto her cheek. She sniffs, wiping it away hurriedly like she's afraid she'll run out of time. "Well, because he isn't not _you_. I've been in love with you for too long. And I was too afraid to accept that because it's a dead end, and it would go nowhere. It was easier pretending to be smitten by someone else, more attainable, but that's all it's been. Pretending."  
She plays with her fingers.

"And I'm sick of pretending. I might've messed up everything, but I wanted you to know. That's it. I'm really sorry." She gets to her feet and is at the door when Percy comes to his senses. He opens his mouth, but no sound comes out. Annabeth slips out of the door without giving him so much as a glance, but he's frozen in place, unable to move or talk.

oOo

Everything is shit and there is no light in the world.

Annabeth hasn't responded to any of his texts, begging to talk, or returned any of his calls. There's a certain number of tries you get before it becomes creepy and stalker-ish, so he stops, after a day. He wants to tell her what he's feeling. How she very literally brightens his day and he hates that they're not on talking terms. He wants to tell her how madly in love he is with her, except he never knew, never _understood_. How afraid he is of what that could mean.

Usually, talking to Annabeth about anything is easy. For some reason, this isn't.

He's at the airport, now, hugging his mom goodbye, when someone clears their throat from behind him. He turns around to see her, arms crossed over her chest and small smile, hesitant on her face.

"You look beautiful." He nods to her attire with a smile of his own. There's so much to be said, but he's just so happy to see her; he doesn't want to make it more painful than it already is. Instead, he chooses to enjoy her presence before he leaves. "Can you tell us who you're wearing today?"

"Well," She clears her throat, getting into character. "This beautiful sweatshirt is a limited edition Adidas in collaboration with Percy Jackson, 2014." She waves her arms around so the too long sleeves flop around in his face. "These wonderful pair of slacks is an original- get this- an _original_ Hennes  & Mauritz reject, made from the purest cotton and the most exotic nylon, all the way from the fashion capital, Milan! And on my feet, of course, to complete the classic look, are a pair of the rarest Uggs to walk this Earth- haha I made a joke." She laughs, but it comes out as a sniffle, and Percy's so happy to see her that he throws his arms around her, pulling her into a long hug. He's overcome by the urge to kiss her, but swallows it down. It was _never_ just attraction.

"You're a mess." He tells her when he pulls away. He studies her face. It's puffy and her eyes are red. Her nose is a lovely pink, too, and her hair looks like it hasn't been combed in years. "If you had a beard, you'd look like the guy from Jumanji. What's going on?"

Annabeth shakes her head, burying her face in his chest.

"I just don't want you to leave and I've been ignoring you and I feel like shit."

"I love you."

That was _definitely_ not what Percy wanted to say. Annabeth stares at him.

"Stop playing games."

"I'm so madly in love with you that I'm going to Arizona so I can get away from this shit and sort myself out because I'm _crazy_ about you."

Where is this even coming from?

"Percy, please, stop-"

And then he holds her face in his hands, tilts it towards him and kisses her without thinking it through. When their lips connect, he can't describe what he's feeling. Like he's on fire, and his organs are melting. His heart is burning through his chest as she kisses him back, slowly. His entire world smells of lemons and tastes like strawberry and tears. He can feel her heart hammering against his, and there's something so special about it, he can't believe he didn't do this sooner. He only draws away when he's really, _really_ out of breath. He looks down at Annabeth, who's eyes are still closed. Slowly, they flutter open.

" _Fuck_."

"Yeah." Percy agrees. "Now that we're on that topic, anyway," He says, shuffling his feet. "There's something I need to tell you."

"I'm listening." She sounds far away, though.

"We're different people." Percy says, slowly. "I was afraid of getting hurt, and closed myself off. It made me say stupid stuff, do dumb things. I ignored what was a part of me the whole time. And I'm not talking about just my feelings here." Annabeth sniffs. "And this is happening so _fast_ , Annabeth. It was like I had an epiphany, messed things up, and- I'm just a different person. And I'm struggling, because it's difficult. To express myself. To _accept_ myself. I was so afraid of getting hurt the way Mom did, the way _you_ did, that I tried to push away what might be the greatest thing to happen to me."

"Percy, you don't have to do this." Annabeth says quietly. Her eyes are watering. "You're going away, now. I want you to have a good time, I'll fly down as often as I can. And you- You have to come back to me. Please- I can't say goodbye, Percy, please don't make this harder than it already is."

"No, Annabeth. You said it yourself, the other day. You're done pretending. Well guess what? So am I." Percy holds her hips, drawing her a little closer to him. "We'll get through this. I'll come back to you as soon as I can. I see it, Annabeth. A future for this; for _us_. I want to marry you. Have kids with you- The luckiest ones with the best parents." He smiles. "I don't want to date you. That's not something people do when they've known each other for as long as we have."

"Percy, you have to leave-"

"I'm having a lot of trouble trying to change, Wise Girl. I try, but I keep slipping back into my old self. I want to be able to love openly, and I'm not asking you to run away with me. I'm asking for your help, if you'll have me."

Annabeth opens her mouth, and then shuts it. She smiles then, eyes sparkling and slips her hand into his, and raising it so their hands were pressed between their hearts.

"Every step of the way."


End file.
